Report reveals areas for improvement in Indigenous health

A new report by the University Centre for Rural Heath provides a snapshot of health and disease issues in the northern New South Wales Aboriginal community. Its chief author says mental well being is key to closing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians.

Patsy Nagus knows all too well about the affect of health problems in her community.

A Northern Rivers Indigenous elder, she has just 10 per cent function left in her kidneys.

The Bundjalung woman has lived in Kyogle for 36 years and has spent the last few of them campaigning for dialysis chairs in small rural hospitals.

Ms Nagus was one of several speakers at a Lismore forum which brought together health professionals and Aboriginal leaders to share ideas about Indigenous health.

She said cross cultural awareness is the first step in improving health rates.

"You cannot send a non Aboriginal person out to visit an elderly Aboriginal person and expect the message to get through.

"I go out to the Aboriginal reserves and I will sit there drinking out of a jam tin, drinking a cup of tea, with the old fellas under a tree. There'll be more understanding of what I'm saying than a non Aboriginal person coming with a piece of paper."

The University Centre for Rural Health has been working with Aboriginal health leaders to compile a report on health and disease among Indigenous people in northern NSW.

While there have been some improvements in areas like infant mortality and pre-term births, chronic disease rates have worsened.

Chief author of the report, associate professor Michael Douglas said targeting adolescents when they're making important life choices is one area that can be improved on.

"We've seen an escalation at the chronic disease level which is probably a consequence of life choices that haven't been addressed, programs that haven't been well targeted in the past.

"To make meaningful change in the health and well being of people really has to go much more upstream; looking at areas of life like housing, employment, of opportunity."

Statistics reveal the local Aboriginal community is on par with high rates of disease - such as chronic disease, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes - seen in the wider Indigenous population.

But there were higher rates of injury in Aboriginal people in the region than any other part of the state.

Dr Douglas said the majority of those injuries were sustained by road accidents.

"Within our Aboriginal youth, that's in the age group from 15 to 24, two to three of those youth will succumb each year to injury.

"Of those young men and women that we thrive with and enjoy their company, to lose two or three of them in one year is quite a shocking and disturbing figure."

But Dr Douglas said a big part of making a significant difference is getting the community to take the lead on making changes.

"It's fine for people like me to advocate on behalf of the community, but ultimately it is the community who will determine how they go forth."